The One True Otaku
by Ascoeur
Summary: Hiyori,Patty and Konata are one of the most anime-obsessed geeks there are, but what happens when suddenly they realise that only one of them can truly be labeled the One True Otaku?While dragging their friends into the dispute,who will emerge victorious?


"Hiiragi-san," Hikaru Sakuraba, 3-C's homeroom teacher, called to Kagami, the class prefect.

"Yes," Kagami answered, getting up from her seat and hurriedly making her way over to her teacher's desk.

"Would you please turn in these documents to Ms. Kuroi in classroom 3-B?" her teacher asked, handing her something that resembled a folder, the important papers in them.

"Of course," Kagami said as she took the folder from her teacher's hands.

"Be sure to come back as soon as you turn them in," Hikaru said, sitting back down at her desk. "We can't start class without you."

Kagami nodded and walked out of the class at a quick pace, folder in hand.

She made her way to 3-B. As she did, she leafed through the papers the teacher had given her, wondering what they were for. Apparently, they were the class arrangements for the next semester, which would decide if Kagami would be in the same class as Tsukasa and the others. She instantly snapped the folder shut and ignored the fact that she had **the** papers in her hands by contemplating the scenery featured at the other side of the glass windows. But temptation was too strong, and she was weak.

"J-just a little peek…," she said to herself, checking to see if anyone was watching her, and then, after having ensured privacy, began leafing through the papers once more.

She felt her heart droop as it slowly sank and hit rock-bottom when she noted that she wasn't going to be in the same class as her friends' the next semester, either. She stopped walking, suddenly getting the urge to change what the teacher had written in as the final arrangement set of the year. This would be her last chance to be in the same class as the others. Now it all came down to her having enough guts to grab a pencil from who-knows-where, erase her name from class 3-C, and write it in Ms. Kuroi's class. But no, she had to be honest and have some pride, and this was definitely not the way to go. She sighed and then continued the walk to her sister's class.

As soon as she slid the classroom's door open, however, she came across some bickering between her friends—well, sort of.

"Are you saying my love is weak!?" Konata demanded, directing her finger at Patricia, a first-year. Every student in the classroom stared, except for the ones whose interest wasn't aroused by such insignificant argument and just focused on their work.

"Now, now" Patty began, nonchalant. "I, Patricia Martin, never said that. I just said that my anime collection back home is larger and expands to much wider horizons."

"L-let's not fight, guys," Hiyori, another first-year and Patty's classmate, nervously said, trying to get her two friends to calm down.

"Are you siding with Patty, Hiyorin?" Konata pouted. "I thought you were my friend…"

"I-Izumi-Senpai, please don't be sad!" Hiyori said.

"She's just coning you, Hiyorin," Patty said, seeing right through Konata.

"Hmm," Konata hummed. "Patty-chan's sharp."

Patty smiled, thinking of it as a compliment "No need to praise me so much!"

Hiyori said, "But I really don't think we should be—"

"But if between us there had to be chosen a better otaku, you know it'd be me!" Konata said, bringing her fist up to her chest.

"Hold up," Hiyori intervened. "Izumi-Senpai, with all due respect, are you able draw your favorite anime character?"

"No, why?" Konata asked.

"Which proves your love may not be as grand as you think it is, Senpai," Hiyori concluded. "S-so… I think I deserve the title of the best otaku out of us three."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Patty clicked her tongue, lifting her index finger and waving it side to side. "Hiyorin, everyone here know that if any of us is deserving of the title of the true otaku, it would be none other than me!"

Konata demanded, "Eh!? Why—!"

Patty began her brief—or not so brief—explanation of why she should be crowned as the true otaku. "As you may all know, I, Patricia Martin, have come from a very faraway country known as the Americas! And as much as I love the place where I was born**, **I sacrificed everything so that I could transfer here, to Ryoo High, and become much more familiar with the Japanese culture and its people. While being here, during my visit, I learned that the 'Otaku' is the pride of anything and everything Japanese! And for that I thank you, Konata**,** for teaching me the ways of the otaku… **BUT **there's a saying in my country that goes, 'An apprentice eventually comes to surpass his master,' and that is why I believe I have come to surpass you."

"Patricia-san," Ms. Kuroi began. "That was one of the most beautiful speeches I have ever heard!"

"S-speech?" Patty was confused, when did she recite a speech?

"Yes," Ms. Kuroi said, nodding. "There's a speech club in our school, I think you'd do great in it so why don't you think it through, 'kay?"

"Eh…?" Patty was still just as puzzled, but she just nodded and replied, "O-okay…I'll think it over."

"And while we're at it," Ms. Kuroi added. "Why don't you…"

"Oh, so Patty's very good at speeches… Eh!? Wait, we're getting off topic here!" Konata cried out.

"Um," Miyuki chimed in. "Might I suggest we hold a contest or competition of some sort and then decide who rightfully deserves the title of 'True Otaku'?"

"Oh, yeah," Konata said, her ahoge hanging loosely by the side. "I never thought of that… Great idea, Miyuki-san!"

"I'm all for it!" Hiyori cheered.

"Me, too!" Patty said.

"But… who's going to be the judge?" Konata asked.

"How about Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa suggested.

"Yeah, Miyuki-san will be perfect for the job!" Konata agreed.

"Eh?" Miyuki was caught by surprise. "I-I don't believe I will be able to achieve the standards you have set for me, I'm not very knowledgeable in the fields of Japanese animation."

"Hmm," Hiyori hummed, trying to think of a solution. She then clapped the bottom of her fist with her palm. The girl began, "Why don't you get an assistant of some sort?"

"I'll help Yuki-chan," Tsukasa volunteered, more than glad to help out a friend.

"But Tsukasa is not exactly 'useful' when it comes to this stuff," Konata pointed out bluntly.

_What exactly does Kona-chan think of me?_ Tsukasa thought, holding back a sniffle.

"We'll check out an anime guide from the library before lunch period arrives, if that is alright with you, Izumi-san," Miyuki suggested.

"Perfect!" Konata said, but then toned down a bit and said, "but if you guys get to have partners, then we, the competitors, should be allowed to get a partner, too!"

"All this talk about anime and partners, could you guys do it on your break?" Ms. Kuroi finally spoke up, deciding it was about time to intercede and continue class, or else it would be counted off her paycheck. "Patricia-san, Hiyori-san, you came here to deliver me your teacher's documents, isn't that right?"

"Ah, y-yes!" they both said.

Kagami was suddenly reminded of the main reason for her being in the classroom in the first place, and made her presence noted. "Ms. Kuroi, I'm here to deliver some documents from my teacher, as well," she said, walking over to Ms. Kuroi's desk, greeting Patty and Hiyori while doing so.

"You!" Konata said, directing a finger at Kagami.

"What?"

"Kagamin, you'll be my partner for the contest!" Konata said in high spirits, deciding that she had made a wise choice.

"Eh? Why should I?" Kagami asked with a deadpan expression, as if she were already expecting something like this to happen. _Why is it that I always come in at the worst possible time?_

"Don't be cold, Kagami," Konata whined, walking over to where she was and then starting to play with her pigtails. "I've taken you to Gamers and almost every single anime store I know, plus you read some novels that get adapted into anime, you're the only one whom I can partner up with and actually have a chance at winning." She entreated, "Please?"

"Stop playing with my hair and I'll do it," she said, giving in.

Konata did so. "Great!" she cheered. Then she quickly made her way to her desk, taking out some sort of magazine, and returned to where she had left Kagami. "Here, study this and learn it all by lunch time!"

"What!?" Kagami exclaimed, leafing through the pages and seeing how abnormally small the letters of the words were. "Konata… I-I don't think I can do this!"

Konata disregarded the tsundere for a moment and turned to the first-years standing by Ms. Kuroi. "You guys need to find a partner before lunch hour comes, too, okay?"

"Patricia Martin shall be back along with a super kool partner!" said a confident Patty before leaving the classroom, dragging Hiyori out the door along with her.

"Hiiragi, you should really be heading back to your own classroom, now," Kuroi advised. "Your teacher will scold you if you're late." _That woman has some temper_, Ms. Kuroi thought, having known Kagami's teacher from when they were younger.

"Well, Kagami," Konata concluded, pushing the girl out the door. "Good luck, and don't be late for the contest!"

"Wait, I—"

But Konata had already slid the door shut in Kagami's face. _What am I supposed to do now? _

. . .

_That aside, Patricia-san is really getting the wrong idea about Japanese culture._

"Hiiragi-san, you've taken quite some time in returning," Hikaru commented, grabbing some chalk and writing in the date on the board. "Did everything go smoothly?"

"I just got delayed, that was all. I handed Ms. Kuroi the documents, as you asked, though."

"Thank you," Hikaru gratefully said, now done writing in the date. She then beckoned, "You may return to your seat, Hiiragi-san."

Kagami did so, trying her best to hide the anime magazine. She didn't know why, but she really didn't want to be seen carrying something like that around.

"Back in the Edo Period, it was believed that the…" Hikaru's voice, lecturing them on Japan's history, slowly began to drift away as Kagami went over the first few pages of the magazine that Konata had ordered her to read.

"Hiiragi-san," Hikaru called to the distracted Kagami, who quickly slipped the book under her skirt—it was cold. "Are you paying attention?"

"Y-yes," Kagami replied, still attempting to hide the magazine, forcing an innocent smile, though twitching.

"At least try and face the front, Hiiragi-san," she said, returning to the board.

Kagami sighed, relieved. _I guess I'll have to buy Konata another one of these, _Kagami thought as she deftly slipped the magazine back out from under her skirt. She read the date on which the magazine was printed: July 8, 1998. _Or maybe I'll just have to resort to taking copies…_

After the firs two periods were finally over, lunch hour settled in. Some clumped their desks together and made screeching noises while doing so. Others distributed milk and bread and other such ordered foods, and students from other classes joined in—Kagami figured she wasn't the only one. She picked up her lunch box, along with the magazine, and headed for the door, off to the otaku's class. Right then, Misao appeared, blocking her path, a determined expression on her face. "Hiiragi, you're leaving us again!" she finished, pointing a guilty finger at her. Ayano standing nearby the front desks.

"Listen, I don't have time for this right now, Kusakabe," Kagami said, trying her best to avoid long talk and just get to the classroom on time, as Konata had directed. "You can come if you want."

Those words, which for Kagami were nothing but a way of escaping the room and stop wasting time, meant so much to the touched Misao. Her heart took flight and fluttered around wildly all the way up to the blue skies—the girl was overjoyed. She grabbed Kagami's both shoulders, head slightly hung, slowly meeting her gaze with teary eyes and soft sniffling. "Hiiragi-chan, this is the first time you've ever invited me to go with you!" Misao jubilantly said, her voice breaking through each passing word. "I think I'm going to cry, va!"

_Like, get a grip, _Kagami thought a little disturbed. "Kusakabe…"

"Yeah?"

"People want to get through, so… could you make way?"

The door to classroom 3-B was opened by an unknown individual. Konata, thinking it to be the tsundere, practically launched herself at the person while yelling "Kagamin!" By the time the person's identity had been revealed, though, it was too late; she was already floating in midair, ready to land.

Misao swiftly dodged the girl, and Ayano, who had been following close behind, ran over to Konata's rescue. She caught her at the last minute, though.

"Sorry, Chibi, your mushy toy is over there," Misao broke it to Konata while pointing at the door, revealing a perplexed Kagami—considering she wasn't there to witness the preceding event.

"Y-yo," she greeted by raising her left hand, the right hand holding the magazine, but quickly rolling it up and sticking the article in her pocket…at least part of it.

Konata instantly jumped up to her feet, regaining balance—Misao helped Ayano up once Konata had gotten out of the way. She turned her head over to Kagami and, while raising her fists up and flinging them into the air, said, "You're late! You've got to be fined!"

"Is that a way to greet someone?"

"The last person to arrive has to be punished," Konata said, one of her fists lowering down to her right and the other one now holding out the index finger accusingly at Kagami. "That's the rule."

She was not going to play along. She knew Konata wanted her to say something like "since when?" or "I've never heard that rule before," but she wasn't going to have it her way this time. "Okay, how much?"

"Two million yen," she replied, matter-of-factly.

"Since when!?" Big mistake on Kagami's part.

"I've just thought it up," Konata responded triumphantly through a grin, placing her hands on her waist with ease, knowing what Kagami had been attempting to do all along.

Suddenly, the doors slid open, revealing a cheery Patty and company. Beside Patty was Hiyori, and they each obstructed the sight of their respective partners who were standing right behind them. Hiyori walked into the room, leading a nervous Yutaka in as she showed her the way, even if she herself wasn't all too familiar with the classroom—due to her friend's short stature, it created this pride-like feeling. Patty came bustling in with Minami at hand, almost knocking the other two over after having had spun them around in the gust of dust she had left behind.

"Haro!" she greeted them with the usual accent and high pitched voice. "I'm here and along with a super kool partner as promised!" she finished her sentence grabbing Minami's shoulders and pushing her out front, as if showing off a rare item of some sort.

"O-onee-chan?" Yutaka was vaguely unsure of her reasons for being here. Hiyori had only told her that it was something of extreme importance and that she needed her full cooperation to be capable of assisting her in any way. Patty, on the other hand, told the caring Minami that Yutaka was off to face a difficult and dangerous task, thus, offering her the option of partnering up with her so that she could tag along with Yutaka, at which she agreed to with no hesitation. But all in all, the two of them were still unclear on the reason that had caused them to be at the Senpai's classroom then and there.

"Ah, Yuu-chan," Konata greeted her little cousin casually. "You may be a little confused but I promise you this will be over quick."

_Kami-sama, please don't scold me, but I just don't trust Onee-chan that fully just yet, _Yutaka guiltily thought, her body slightly quivering.

Just then, Minami scooted over closer to Yutaka, and she, in a very low and shy tone, reassuringly told her, "I'm here."

Yutaka smiled, wiping away a droplet of a tear. "Thank you, Minami-chan."

"A-ah…" Hiyori groaned inwardly, though no one seemed to notice. _Get a grip, me, get a grip!_ she thought, trying to stop the weird delusions of her friends from taking over again. She swore she would have slapped herself out of it if it weren't for the fact that she was in public at the time.

"Well, let's get started then!" Konata said, turning around and examining the classroom, trying to picture something. "We should move three desks to the back of the classroom, and the competitors will get one each," she suggested.

"Ah, so that we do not disturb our classmates as they feast on their meals?" Miyuki asked, holding a thick anime guidebook in her hands, Tsukasa standing beside her.

"Nah, I just thought that way we'd have more space," Konata replied bluntly. "Miyuki-san, you'll place your desk in front of the three in the back, because you're the judge. You and Tsukasa will sit there."

"Understood, Izumi-san," Miyuki said, turning to Tsukasa and giving her directions on how they would handle the transition of the desk.

"You managed to memorise everything, Kagami?" Konata questioned the girl, taking hold of one of the sides of the desk while Kagami took the other to make the transition easier.

"Um, about that, I don't think—"

A saving "As long as you read some of it, it's fine" from Konata cut into her despondency. "I guess I came onto you a little too forcefully so… sorry."

"Well, since you're apologizing, I guess I can forgive you—"

That was all Konata needed to hear. "Glad to hear it! Now, do you have the magazine with you?"

_Well, that was awfully fast! _Kagami thought, seeing how quick the otaku was at recovering. But she didn't concern herself over it very long, because now she remembered she had forgotten to go down to the printing room and take the copies. The magazine was safely in her pocket, rolled up and sticking out a bit, but she couldn't hand Konata the thing after the incident in the classroom. Averting her gaze from Konata's and focusing on their destination, she replied, "I-I'll get you a copy…"

Konata didn't have time to ask her for a reason explaining the "taking copies" concept, since they had already arrived at the back of the classroom and carefully placed the desk on the floor, trying not to be a bother to the students as their underclassmen had. Then Patty and the others, already done with their own part of the task, approached them. "Konata, Patty-chan and company are done here so we can start now," Patty informed.

"Let's go over the rules, then," Konata said enthusiastically.

Everyone nodded and headed to their respective desks, Misao and Ayano sat somewhere in the back of the classroom so that they could watch—Misao planned on cheering for Kagami throughout the course of the game. Minami and Patty sat at the desk closest to the left wall, Yutaka and Hiyori closest to the one at the right, and Kagami and Konata in the middle of the two pairs. Miyuki and Tsukasa, as the judges, sat in the desk before the other three with the anime guide on its surface.

The rules were laid out in such a way that they were not too difficult for the girls to understand. First of all, there would be sections, or categories, on which they would be tested—undefined numbering. Each category had its own different set of rules, whether it was going to involve multiple choices, straight answers, or opinions, would depend on the situation. The partners were there to help out the actual competitors—we'll call them leaders—only by whispering in their ears or writing on paper whatever it was that they wanted to say. In other words, they could not speak or blurt out an answer, unless a word or question was directed to them during the course of the game, or it would be counted against them. Everyone nodded in assent, acknowledging the contest's rules and promising to respect them throughout the competition with no complaint, or they would be disqualified.

"Eto…" Tsukasa began, opening the thick anime guide to a certain page. "We'll start off with the category that focuses on testing your um…" Her forehead quivered and wrinkled a bit as she tried to make out the word written on the page of the book, but eventually she gave up and asked Miyuki to help her out in deciphering the meaning of the word. As she finally came to understand the word's definition, she continued where she had left off. "Otakuness…?" Tsukasa finished the sentence with a hint of uncertainty to her tone.

Miyuki took the guide back from Tsukasa, who felt like she hadn't been useful at all, to start off with the first set of questions for said category. "Please respond to these questions with a yes or no truthfully in honor of your otaku pride, understood?"

The three anime geeks nodded, their partners just stared and patiently waited for the question.

"Have you, or would you, name a computer, pet, or child after an anime character?" Miyuki questioned.

The three of them didn't hesitate to answer with a "Yes."

_I sort of feel sorry for the guy that is going to end up being Konata's husband, _Kagami thought.

Miyuki continued, "Next question: Do you know what 'Jpop' is or have you ever done karaoke to anime music?"

Again, the room was filled with choruses of "Yes."

_I remember the Karaoke…_ Kagami thought, recalling the days Konata had dragged her and the others to the Karaoke place after school relentlessly.

_I've listened to Jpop but I've never actually done Karaoke, _Yutaka thought, looking back on memories of the past where she sang along to some music stored in her ipod.

"Have you ever had an anime-related dream?" Miyuki asked, turning the page.

All the three girls answered "Yes" once again.

"Was it…" Miyuki stopped, cleared her throat, and adjusted her glasses before continuing, "erotic or fleshly in content?"

The three girls, who up until now had smiles on their faces, hesitated. Patty whistled nonchalantly, pretending not to have heard the question; Hiyori averted her gaze, her glasses reflecting the sunlight like a suspended flash of a camera lens as she smirked like a perverted old man; Konata was the only one to answer this time, speaking up for the other two. "W-we'd rather not answer that question, Miyuki-san, if you know what I mean…"

_O-Onee-chan…she…oh, _Yutaka thought, face flushed.

_Those three…_ Kagami thought, a little disturbed.

_It's gone far beyond the usual wet dreams, I see, _Misao thought with a snicker.

"_Oh my" _was the only thought floating around in Ayano's mind.

_Cheesecake? _The naive Tsukasa thought, wondering what everyone was all shook up about.

The audience, along with a partially embarrassed Minami, remained silent—some of them developing a red-colored glow upon their faces.

This prompted Miyuki to raise her frameless glasses by the nose-bridge with a finger, and respond, "A-ah yes, you may pass this one up. Now, let us move on, yes? Did you meet your significant other through an anime club, IRC channel, mailing list, etc…?"

The three of them, even Konata with a cyber boyfriend, dejectedly replied with a somber "No."

_Figures, _Kagami thought.

Miyuki gently nudged at Tsukasa, who had been spacing out for quite a while, and handed her the anime guide since it was her job to dictate each and every new category. "Eh?" Tsukasa caught everyone staring at her, and then, out of embarrassment, buried her head in the book as she began reading what was written aloud so that everyone could forget her previous blunder. "This new category focuses on testing your knowledge in and of Japanese animation in general—multiple choice questions."

Tsukasa returned the guide to Miyuki, who cleared her throat and gave out the final rule for the category. "Taking into account that this is multiple choice, whoever wants to answer the question has to raise their hand first. Tsukasa-san and I will then decide which one of you, the competitors, will be granted the right to speak and answer the questions. Partners, you may help your leaders in this particular category."

At this, Tsukasa passed out some blank sheets of paper along with a pencil and placed it atop each girl's desk, in case the partners needed to write down what it was that they wanted to say to their leaders. Either that or there's always the option of whispering. Tsukasa returned to Miyuki's side, and the pink haired girl began, "In the series 'Shugo Chara,' what is Tadase's guardian chara's name? A. Pepe B. Kiseki C. Ran D. Daichi."

Everyone in the room pondered, even the non-competitors. Yutaka seemed to be struggling a bit, digging deep into past memories to see if she'd find something that related to that anime. Minami's facial expressions didn't change, but she was awfully quiet, thinking. Kagami, too, tried recalling the name of that character, she remembered Konata talking about him once, but it was no good. The other three, however, didn't spend much time thinking about it and soon replied. Of course, there is, and will always be, someone better—in this case "faster"—than somebody else.

Surprisingly enough, the glasses-wearing anime fangirl had awesome reflexes, which helped her raise her hand at an astounding speed. About half a second later, Konata and Patty raised theirs, but it was too late…in a sense.

"Yes, Hiyori-san?"

"B. Kiseki," Hiyori replied, the artist's hand had once again come through for her.

"Correct," Miyuki said, turning to another page in the book. Konata and Patty sighed. "Next question: In which anime is the main character a duck and a human girl? A. Rozen Maiden B. Da Capo C. Fruits Basket D. Princess Tutu."

Minami recognized this one. She was into the classical, appeasing sort of things, and had watched the series after having been recommended it by someone she once knew, so she was familiar with the anime description given and most definitely knew the name. She reached for a pencil, keeping cool and collected, and quickly wrote down on paper the letter D for Patty to read as the others were still thinking it through.

"C!" Hiyori quickly yelled out.

Minami wasn't fast enough, and felt disheartened to even show Patty what she had written down. That was when she realised Hiyori had said "C" not "D."

"I'm sorry, but that's incorrect," Miyuki said, looking very apologetic even if this was a contest with winners and losers.

Minami's spirits were once again lifted as she handed Patty the piece of paper with the answer on it. "D!" Patty shouted out.

"Correct, Patricia-san," Miyuki said, congratulating her. Patty felt relieved, having scored a point, and turned to Minami and gave her a thumbs-up accompanied with her trademark wink in "Good job!" Minami flushed at this, and nodded in response. Konata and Hiyori groaned silently, their partners comforted them with a "There, there."

"Next question: In 'Maria-Sama Ga Miteru,' why did Yoshino return Rei-Sama her rosary? A. She didn't feel worthy of being Rei's little sister B. She didn't like Rei anymore since she'd found someone better C. She didn't want to be a burden to Rei and decided they both needed to take a break for their own good D. She was diagnosed with an incurable disease and decided to end things before it became even more painful to do so."

Everyone had remained silent for a while; the choices were all so likely to have happened in the show, so it was hard to pick just one.

"Go, go, give it all ya got!" Misao cheered Kagami on from the side of the classroom. "Fight, fight, Hiiragi-chan!"

_I-I had forgotten she was still here for a minute…, _the pigtailed girl thought guiltily.

After Misao had stopped cheering, thanks to Ayano's well-handled prodding, the girls got back to the task in hand. Konata, being a perfect Sachiko impersonator, even had trouble with this one since she had really just skipped through the Rei and Yoshino parts during the show—she thought they were uninteresting. Kagami, on the other hand, had finally a question going in her favor. She couldn't answer, though, because the leader was the only one that could. She bent down a little and leaned in close to Konata's ear, ready to whisper in what she thought to be the answer. "Konata, I think it's—"

Konata giggled softly.

"What?" Kagami asked, her tone still low in volume.

"Your breath is tickling me," she said in between giggles.

Kagami grunted lightly. "You want me to help you out or not?"

Konata nodded, grinning a bit and trying to restrain herself from any more giggling.

After Kagami had whispered in the answer, Konata quickly raised her hand, resulting in Miyuki turning her attention over to her along with the others, and responded, "C!"

"Correct," Miyuki said, smiling.

Konata grinned and nudged Kagami playfully. "Thanks, Kagamin, but… how did you know that was the answer, hmm?"

Kagami blushed at the compliment, but also at the fact that she had been caught. Konata, of all people, would surely know what sort of anime "Maria-Sama Ga Miteru" was, and would think she was strange. But she couldn't reverse time, and had put the girl on hold for a while now, she had to answer. "I-I just came across the novel at the local bookstore by accident and read it absent-mindedly, t-that was all!" she embarrassedly replied, that red glow streaking across her face.

"Aww," Konata cooed. "No need to be shy~"

"U-um, next question," Miyuki said, bringing the two back to her attention, feeling the need to intercede for the sake of the game. "Out of these four choices, which one is _not _considered to be harem? A. Sister Princess B. Love Hina C. Air TV D. Shugo Chara."

The girls found this one a bit difficult; after all, it seemed to be a trick question. Some anime tended to have bishoujo girls or bishonen boys around the main character just for fan service, but they never actually played the moves on the star of the show, they were just there to look pretty and act as supporting characters—ah, the charm of non-harem anime.

As the three leaders carefully analyzed over each of the possible answers, reciting them in their minds, the partners also thought the question through, though Yutaka having the lead this time. Yutaka recalled the anime "Air TV," having stumbled upon it as she did some chores around the house until she arrived at her big sister's room—literally stumbled on the thing. She had tripped and fallen over onto the surprisingly soft, carpeted floor, due to her right foot having come into contact with an anime full-season, collectors' edition DVD box. She wrote what she thought to be the solution, C, down on paper for Hiyori. And as soon as the girl read what was written, she immediately raised her hand and answered the question.

"Correct," Miyuki once again said. Hiyori smiled down at Yutaka and thanked her for her assistance, while the partners of the other two pairs consoled the sore losers they had for leaders.

The game went on for about ten more minutes, and after deciding it was enough, they came to conclude it. Miyuki, now resting on the chair that was located behind her, turned to Tsukasa, who was sitting, as well, and asked, "Tsukasa-san, could you please tell us what is the score everyone obtained?"

. . .

"I-I had to keep s-score?" Tsukasa nervously asked, stumbling over her words.

Everyone, including the students who until recently had been eating happily away, remained silent. The shock was far too great. Konata fell back on her chair; the news came as a jolt. Minami and Yutaka held a tight grip on their respective leaders' limp bodies to avoid serious concussions in case they fainted and bumped their heads on the hard floor. Tsukasa fidgeted around with the guidebook, tiny bits of perspiration beginning to form at the side of her face by the second, smiling uneasily. Ms. Kuroi had long entered the classroom, about halfway through the game, eating as she had been enjoying live entertainment.

Miyuki cleared her throat, adjusted her glasses as she glanced over at each of the shaken and appalled girls, and began, "E-everyone, h-how do I say this…? Ah, yes! Please do not be disappointed, you've all done well, given it your all, and showed that you are all truly worthy of the title of 'True Otaku.' Quite frankly, since the beginning of the game I had been unsure if this had been the correct way to resolve things. I have come to the conclusion that important and distinguished members of society, such as yourselves, should not be arguing over such absurd matters. Instead, I've come to believe that you should embrace your uniqueness, get together, and share your passion with the world."

_Miyuki, Miyuki, stop, you're going to give those three ideas!_

The girls' almost dead-gone souls returned to their bodies as their zombie-like pale faces regained back their original colors.

"Ah, Miyuki-Senpai's right," Hiyori said, grasping what her upperclassman had explained. "I propose we create 'The True Otaku Club for Fans, by Fans'!"

"That's an awfully long name for a group," Konata opinioned. "But I'm all for it!"

"Totally, count me in, too!" Patty cheered, catapulting a fist into the air.

"Now that we've, in a way, founded our new club, you guys wanna go get something to drink?" Konata asked, though more like suggested.

"I like smoothies," Hiyori replied, heading Konata's direction. "I think they sell them at the cafeteria."

"Patricia wants Piña Colada!" Patty shouted heartily, approaching Konata as well.

"I don't think they have those here, Patty-chan..." Konata said.

Soon, the three girls were together and casually left the classroom, chit-chatting and discussing the new club they'd created as they went, taking into consideration taking over the literature clubroom to put it into use as their own. All the other girls were forgotten by the lot of them in a matter of minutes, left with a "What just happened?" expression on their faces.

Ms. Kuroi had worked her way through the sea of students and clumped desks over to Miyuki, and, as she had done with Patty, delicately took her hands into hers. "Takara, you have a real gift, y'know that? I recommend you join the speech club, as well. If not, why not try the debate club? There are really nice people there and I think you're what they're…"

And Ms. Kuroi continued, Miyuki listening with polite interest, she didn't want to appear rude. Minami and Yutaka decided it was time to take their leave, as well, so they enjoyed each other's company as they headed out the classroom. Misao rose from her seat, grabbing Ayano by the wrist and dragging her along as she approached Kagami, who was standing beside her twin sister, comforting her as she still felt guilty for not keeping score on the game.

"Hiiragi…"

"Yeah?"

"Um… we haven't eaten yet."

Kagami's stomach growled, the sound very much resembling the croak of a frog, causing her to flinch and gawk at her tummy as she grew multiple shades of red.

Misao smirked.


End file.
